Acupuncture Treatment of Vasomotor Symptoms in Breast Cancer Patients

NCT ID: NCT05760222

Last Updated: 2023-03-08

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

90 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-11-25

Study Completion Date

2024-12-25

Brief Summary

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The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the impact of acupuncture in preventing worsening of hot flashes and sleep disorders in paucisymptomatic premenopausal Breast Cancer (BC) patients undergoing LHRHa plus endocrine therapy.

According to the published data, acupuncture is an effective and long-lasting (6 to 8 months) treatment for severe vasomotor symptoms. Treatment response can be affected by different variables, including intervention timing.

The main question this study aims to answer is:

Can we expect an additional benefit resulting from an early intervention (when patients are still presymptomatic/paucysintomatic) with acupuncture in preventing worsening in terms of frequency/severity of hot flashes and sleep disorders?

Researchers will compare patients randomized in two arms:

Arm A: intervention with acupuncture Arm B: usual care to see if acupuncture is superior to usual care in preventing worsening of hot flashes

Detailed Description

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This is a prospective randomized clinical trial of superiority of acupuncture compared to usual care for prevention/early treatment of vasomotor symptoms and sleep impairment in LHRHa induced amenorrhea.

The primary endpoint will be a reduction in frequency and intensity of hot flashes in the intervention arm compared to standard care, measured by the Hot Flash Composite Score (HFCS) at 6 months following the protocol. Among the secondary outcomes, sleep quality will be measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and quality of life by the Menopause-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MenQOL) and EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-C30).

A total of 90 premenopausal BC (stage I-III) patients undergoing LHRHa plus Endocrine Therapy (tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors) after surgery will be randomized 1:1 in two arms:

Arm A: intervention with 10 acupuncture sessions twice per week for 4 weeks followed by 2 more sessions once per week Arm B: usual care

Participants in both arms will report the hot flash frequency and severity daily (HFCS), and will fill three questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30, MenQoL, PSQI) according to the following timeline:

T0 (baseline): 6 weeks following the first LHRHa administration T1: 6 weeks from T0 (corresponding to the end of acupuncture protocol for Arm A) T2: 18 weeks from T0 T3: 30 weeks from T0

Conditions

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Breast Cancer

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Acupuncture arm

Intervention with 10 acupuncture sessions twice per week for 4 weeks followed by 2 more sessions once per week

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Acupuncture

Intervention Type OTHER

Acupuncture for prevention/early treatment of vasomotor symptoms and sleep impairment in LHRHa induced amenorrhea in Breast Cancer patients

Usual care arm

Lifestyle recommendations

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Acupuncture

Acupuncture for prevention/early treatment of vasomotor symptoms and sleep impairment in LHRHa induced amenorrhea in Breast Cancer patients

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Premenopausal Breast Cancer patients
* Stage I-III breast cancer patients undergoing LHRHa plus ET (tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors) after surgery
* Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Ongoing LHRHa during chemotherapy
* Ongoing pharmacological therapy or natural products consumption for vasomotor symptoms
* Metastatic breast cancer
* Ongoing heparin or anticoagulant therapy
* Psychiatric conditions
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Stefano Magno

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Fondazione policlinico Gemelli - IRCCS

Locations

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Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli- IRCCS

Rome, , Italy

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Italy

Central Contacts

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Stefano Magno

Role: CONTACT

347 8551052

Claudia Maggiore

Role: CONTACT

3498175958

References

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Mao JJ, Bowman MA, Xie SX, Bruner D, DeMichele A, Farrar JT. Electroacupuncture Versus Gabapentin for Hot Flashes Among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2015 Nov 1;33(31):3615-20. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2015.60.9412. Epub 2015 Aug 24.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26304905 (View on PubMed)

Lesi G, Razzini G, Musti MA, Stivanello E, Petrucci C, Benedetti B, Rondini E, Ligabue MB, Scaltriti L, Botti A, Artioli F, Mancuso P, Cardini F, Pandolfi P. Acupuncture As an Integrative Approach for the Treatment of Hot Flashes in Women With Breast Cancer: A Prospective Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (AcCliMaT). J Clin Oncol. 2016 May 20;34(15):1795-802. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2015.63.2893. Epub 2016 Mar 28.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27022113 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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4523

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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